Road from art to justice

At first I did not realize that what I took for granted was actually a gift. I assumed that everyone saw the world as I did, that colors were vivid, and lights and dark shapes danced in front of their eyes, and nature was filled with a zillion colors and designs.

There was never a question of wanting to make art, it was as natural as breathing to me and part of my very existence. Being able to see the world at this heightened sensitivity not only allowed me to see all of it's beauty, but made me very aware of all it's ugliness as well. More importantly not only did I see beauty and ugliness more intensely, but I felt it emotionally and spiritually as well. I grew up being told over and over that I was too sensitive. How does an artist not be sensitive, is there a switch that I could turn off in my personality that would stop this sensitivity and turn off my artistic talent?

I found that this strong sensitivity to the world around me made me question many of the inequities and wrongs in the world. Living in New York at times my senses would become so overwhelmed by the contrast in human existence I saw around me that I would feel physically pained. I began to think I needed to do something, so while I was attending art school I volunteered at the Mental hospital and had the job of bringing the mobile library to patients. This was triggered by having to pass at least one and some times many homeless people whom we referred to as bums at the time, many of them having mental and alcoholic problems.

Most of the time I would surround myself with doing art or viewing art at the local museums and galleries, and I wrapped myself in this world of beauty like a protective blanket from the harsh outside world. It has been a long journey in trying to weave this sensitivity of beauty and ugliness into a meaningful existence, many times the balancing act between the two world has almost caused me to fall into the abyss. This blog will be about that journey so that others can contribute and make a difference in our world